


oh darling, you’ve got the whole world in front of you

by honeyxxpeaches



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyxxpeaches/pseuds/honeyxxpeaches
Summary: The newest addition to the Gilmore-Danes family makes her arrival well known.
Relationships: Dean Forester/Rory Gilmore, Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	oh darling, you’ve got the whole world in front of you

Lorelai screams and cries— and swears like a sailor to the point where her mother tells her enough is enough— but Luke just stands there, allowing her to crush the hand that pours her coffee every morning. 

The last time he tried to offer comfort had been when they’d first arrived, and _that_ hadn’t gone over too well. 

Everything with the Gilmore family was a blur of chaos, but his daughter’s arrival into this world was truly the epic peak of this crazy mountain. He’d gotten the call originally from Sookie, who seemed to be panic talking at warp speed while simultaneously yelling at Lorelai to remember her breathing techniques.

Then, the phone had been passed over to Rory — while Luke was still trying to catch his breath and calm his racing heart at the thousands of possibilities running through his head right now that would lead to Lorelai and several others rushing to the hospital. All he had heard was a quick: _“We’re heading to St. Ambrose. Meet us there!”_ before Rory took over. 

She explained somewhat calmly and quickly that this was it. It was finally time. The big moment they’d all been waiting for — nobody more than Lorelai, considering she was nine months and nearly two weeks pregnant. 

Their daughter was finally coming into the world. His daughter was finally coming into the world. His and Lorelai’s daughter was finally coming into the world. 

By the time he got there, his wife of a year and a half was already laid up on the bed in one of those scratchy paper hospital gowns she hates so much, legs tilted upward with a blanket covering, throwing her head back against the thin pillows. 

Richard and Emily were seemingly arguing with several different nurses near the private bathroom. Sookie and Rory were each holding one of Lorelai’s hands, coaching her to breathe. He’d already passed Jackson, Dean, and the misfit band of kids in the waiting room; so there was no need to ask where the rest of their one-stop circus was. 

He’d rushed over, taking Rory’s spot— who seemed more than relieved to take a seat in a nearby chair— and then he’d done what he had done for the past couple years to comfort her. He’d run a hand through her hair, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, asked her how she was doing. 

_“I’m in pain, Luke! It hurts! It hurts like a freaking mother of all fuckers!”_ Apparently, it was the wrong thing to ask in a situation like this. She didn’t want any of his other affections either; just to simply hold his hand and break all of his bones.

For the most part, crowded and all, the birth seemed to go well. Luke couldn’t figure out why a camera man was trying to get in all of their faces, even with Lorelai screaming for him to get away, but it probably had something to do with his daughter’s future grandpa, who was standing outside the room respectfully. Or, more likely, the future grandmother attempting to soothe her daughter and scold her for her swearing at the same time. 

There were several times where he cursed Dean and Jackson for being able to babysit the kids and not have to have their ears rung out or their hands broken. But once his daughter came into the world, screaming as if she’d never be able to scream again, he knew it was the best thing he’d ever made. 

She was _beautiful_ — and he was definitely becoming the sappy dad who cried and felt faint at their kid’s birth, and claimed that she looked exactly like her mother. 

When the hardest part was over, after the doctors cleaned her up and assured she had all ten fingers and toes, they wrapped her up in a pink blanket and handed her to Lorelai. 

This time, she allows Luke’s hand to rest on the back of her head. He peers over her shoulder, straight at the small, fragile, newborn. 

Lorelai holds her so easily, looking down at her like she cannot take her eyes off of her even for a second. There’s still tears streaming down her face, and Luke feels his nerves returning alongside the overwhelming tightness in his chest and the burn in his own eyes. 

She’s so pale and little, with barely opened eyes, and the tiniest of button noses. She has little to no hair, and it’s only a light blonde-ish color, barely even noticeable. 

“She has your eyes,” Luke says. He sniffles a few times, not caring if Emily or Sookie or even Julio the cameraman captures this mental image. He’s never been witness to a baby’s birth, and he certainly doesn’t know what to say other than what he’s heard people say on television in her cheesy romance movies, because he’s feeling so much and not thinking enough right now. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, she doesn’t have anyone’s eyes yet. You can’t tell until after a few months.” She says it all without looking away from their baby — and then, she coos softly. “But she _is_ precious, isn’t she? Just so precious. Mommy’s _precious_ baby girl.” 

Luke can only watch, feeling his chest tightening more painfully and his eyes burning quicker. He works hard to fight back tears. 

“I love her already,” Lorelai continues quietly. “I love her so much, Luke. We did this. We made her.” 

It’s then that she looks up, catches his eyes, smiles through her tears. He cups her face with one hand, leaning in to kiss her. She responds immediately, and Luke’s so caught up in his love and amazement that he’s almost forgetting the craziness of the day. 

May 12th. It’s his daughter’s birthday. 

“We did,” he whispers, looking at her for only a moment longer, before both of their attention is captured by their daughter.   
  


* * *

He feels like his whole world stops the minute she is placed in his arms. 

Emily urges Richard and Julio out. Rory and Sookie follow them to update their awaiting family. Even the doctors leave the trio of Gilmore-Danes to themselves for a few minutes. 

“Do you want to hold her?” Lorelai questions gently. He knows that she knows about his fears and doubts of becoming a father, but she also knows that he wouldn’t ever bail on them. “Everyone will be coming in soon, wanting a turn with her.” 

He nods— because there’s no way he’s letting Miss Patty or Taylor Dousse hold his daughter before he does— and extends his arms. It’s a little awkward of a position at first, because he’s only ever held Sookie’s children a few times, but Lorelai carefully guides him. And within seconds, he’s holding his daughter for the first time ever. 

He’s well aware that his wife is watching them, but his only focus is the bundle of pink in his arms. 

“Hey there, kiddo.” His voice sounds rough, but he’s just done a lot more crying than usual. “It’s me— your _Dad_.” 

He has no clue what to say, so he just spends the few relative quiet minutes simply holding her, taking in the feeling of having her in his arms. 

It lasts for all of six minutes— all of which he’s sure Lorelai is crying through— before a knock interrupts them and the whole Stars Hollow softball team comes in. 

For that part, he hands her back to Lorelai. Then, while she’s being carefully passed around from Emily to Rory to Richard to Sookie to Jackson to Dean to Miss Patty and whoever the hell else wanders in; he sits by her bedside and holds her hand, running the back of his thumb over her smooth skin. 

Everyone seems to be emotional. 

Rory is holding back— they can both tell— but there’s no doubt she’s going to be staying at the house for a little while just to bond with her new baby sister. Besides, Lorelai holds her hand with her free hand when she passes her to the next person in line, and Dean runs a hand over her back. 

Emily is full on crying in a way Luke has never seen before and doesn’t think he ever wants to again. It scares him a little bit that the once terrifying woman does cry. However, she hums a little tune while she holds Baby Gilmore-Danes, and looks at her as if she’s the most precious thing Emily Gilmore has ever touched. 

Even Richard is holding back tears. Sookie takes loads of pictures and promises to spoil her niece rotten. Jackson is crying too (again, something Luke could go his whole life without seeing), and Miss Patty and Babette lean on each other for comfort. 

The most biggest surprise though, is when Taylor and Kirk enter — heart-shaped balloons and pink flowers and a little purple giraffe stuffed animal. 

Kirk trips over his words, extending the stuffed toy in Lorelai’s direction. “I know she’s not old enough yet — you know, choking hazard and all. But I just wanted to get her something.” 

It’s weird and odd, and Kirk looks awkward, but Lorelai extends an invitation to the baby-holding line. 

( God, Luke has never thought his child’s birth would ever turn out like this.) 

“Do you wanna hold her?” She asks, even though there’s dark circles under her eyes and he can tell she’s exhausted. 

“Oh, God, no,” Taylor declines, holding his hands up in surrender once he sets down everything else. “I make it a point not to spread my germs to the little ones. However, bring her to the shop sometime! I’d love for her to test out our new flavor: peanut butter and raspberry!” 

Luke shakes his head, sighing. “Don’t you think she might be a little too _old_ for that Taylor?” 

It’s full of sarcasm, and Taylor can’t resist his banter even on his daughter’s birth date. “I was referring to when she was old enough, Lucas.” 

“Kirk?” Lorelai’s voice breaks through their miniature squabble. “What about you?” 

“Oh no — maybe when she’s older. How about two? Or three even?” 

Emily scoffs, reminding Luke that they’re nearly at maximum capacity for the people allowed in this room. “Are you serious?” She turns to Rory. “Is he serious?” 

“Come on, Kirk. She won’t hurt you,” Lorelai sits up as best as she can, but Luke notices the wince. He puts a hand on her back, guiding her until she’s in a more comfortable position, and carefully takes their daughter into his own arms to deliver her to Kirk. 

“Just do it, man.” 

Kirk nearly breaks down into tears, and it’s obvious he’s never really held a baby before. He nearly drops her, but Luke takes her back into his own safe embrace as soon as Sookie snaps the picture. 

“Do you have a name picked out yet?” Richard asks, and Luke damn near forgot about his and Lorelai’s very long discussions what to name and what not to name their child. 

“We sure did,” Lorelai smiles, which in turn makes Luke smile. “Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore-Danes — or _Ella_.” 

They picked it out together — in between watching Emily direct everyone out of the room and looking down at their newest bundle of joy. _Lorelai_ because Luke wasn’t about to break up the tradition, _Elizabeth_ because it was the only girl’s name Luke could think of that sounded good with a formal first name; and _Ella_ because they had both originally adored that name when flipping through pages of the baby name books.   
  


“It sounds lovely,” Emily comments — and everyone agrees. _Their Ella,_ the town’s newest popular baby! 

“You’re going to make a great father, Luke,” Taylor pats him on the shoulder — one of the only good moments between them — before the circus begins to take their exit. 

( Except they’re not really a circus. They’re his family and he loves them, mostly, especially today. ) 

* * *

“Taylor’s right, you know,” Lorelai mumbles, half asleep. 

Her head is turned to the side where he’s sitting in the chair, and her body is covered by the pink fuzzy blanket Rory had brought from their home — only _after_ Lorelai nearly cried over the thin paper one the hospital provided. Her hormones were still going to be all over the place for the next few weeks, but Luke knew the rest of his life was going to be good. 

Ella was asleep in the bassinet beside her hospital bed. Both of them refused to allow the doctors to wheel her away to the nursery. ( _“Do you know how many accidents could happen in there, Luke? Do you want our kid to get switched at birth?”_ ) 

Everyone had been gone for a few hours, and they’d been absorbing the peace of everything. He’d been watching over his wife and daughter, not pausing for anything else. They had his full attention, and he had theirs. 

He hummed just to humor her, knowing she was about to pass out any second now. “About what?” He brings a hand up to her face, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear before just resting it there. 

She’s struggling to keep her eyes open, and he knows his own eyes hold so much love in them for this woman. This woman who’d given birth to their child. This woman who’d loved him for who he was. 

She turns into his hand, pressing a little kiss to his palm. “You’re a great Dad.” 

His heart skips a beat, but he doesn’t show it. “You’re a great Mom.” 

“Yeah but we already knew that.” It makes him chuckle, because she can still come up with these one-liners even in the state she’s in. “We’re gonna be great parents. She’s got so many people looking out for her. . . So much love.” 

“We’re already great parents,” Luke says, and he presses one final kiss to her forehead. 

He waits until she’s fully asleep, softly breathing and emitting quiet snores — before he makes his way over to where _their_ daughter is lying. She’s so small and so fragile and so _theirs_ , that he can barely comprehend it all. 

This is the first kid they’re going to be officially raising together, from now until the day they take their last breaths. She’s got Rory who’s become his over time. He’s got April who’s become partly his and less partly Lorelai’s over time. Together, they have Ella. 

_Ella Gilmore-Danes._


End file.
